Rumours of Yuji Naka’s imminent departure from SEGA seemed greatly exaggerated when SEGA’s Sonic Channel (the Japanese Sonic mini site) seemed to imply it was all part of an elaborate prank, devised to convince swarms of fans into believing Naka was leaving to set up is own restaurant titled ‘Yumeshiya’.

The prank was part of SEGA’s April fool, which due to time differences had occurred a day earlier than other parts of the world which led many a western fan to believe it was true. The joke did however serve another purpose: To draw people’s attention away from the growing concern that Naka was leaving SEGA to found his own development studio, and that SEGA would own a small stake in the company. Now it seems these rumours have indeed been confirmed. Continue reading Yuji Naka leaves Sonic Team